Chapter 23

Improvements

Hey guys, sorry about this being a bit late. I'm still here and still working on updates. Next chapter should wrap up the Chuunin Exam and then we'll have a chapter for Hiruzen's funeral. You all should know who will be visiting Konoha after that.

Thank you to everyone for reading this mess! I apologize if there are any typos. No matter how many times I go back to re-read, I always miss things. Also, there probably won't be an update this Sunday (3/21), but it will be coming the weekend after.

While watching Naruto, Arashi tweaked the design for her fuinjutsu on a scroll and incorporated the one that she tested on Kakashi.

The Fuin Shugotenshi did not seem complicated on paper. Instead of being stored in a single seal, it was comprised of dozens of tiny seals that acted as nodes throughout the body. Some were tweaked for soft tissue, some for bone, others for the various systems within the body. The trigger for the healing portion was bult on the logic of if-then-else. If tissue near the seal took damage, it then would release the medical ninjutsu stored within it until that tissue was restored. There was an additional failsafe built in with similar logic that allowed it to create tourniquets or encase damaged arteries with chakra for a brief period of time. It had worked well for Arashi and her teammates. The main issue that they had run into was the reapplication process.

Once the Fuin Shugotenshi ran out of stored chakra, it could no longer heal and would dissipate. This meant that Arashi would need to set the seal again. This was an undertaking. It took time, made the recipient sore, and it was hard for them to mold and control chakra for a few days after. She knew how to funnel chakra into it to keep it going but the Aburame tended to get into risky situations enough that there were times that he would return with the seal depleted, still needing medical attention.

With the new addition, she hoped to cut down or eliminate that need. Now, it could both stimulate the host's chakra system into producing and maintaining more chakra while also funneling a converted portion of it into the Fuin Shugotenshi. For people who were not often in combat, such as Arashi and Daisuke, they would end up with massive amounts of chakra stored for emergency use later. For Akio, it would mean he would not have to have it reapplied as often and it would reduce his down time for recovery.

She was elated to have this development. I wonder if Kakashi-san will be understanding since he's starting to reap some benefits?

The kunoichi made a few copies of her work and tucked the scrolls away. They were too far from Konoha for her to be able to scan for her teammates within the village. To make up for that, she pulled out the crystal ball that was gifted to her and began scrying. With that additional tool and jutsu, she was able to confirm that her teammates were in the village. Neither looked particularly busy.

"It's been a while since I've seen that jutsu." Jiraiya commented.

She blinked and glanced over at him. He had been watching women play under a waterfall nearby and she assumed he would remain busy with that. "It's useful."

The Sannin settled across from her and leaned forward to eye her. The kunoichi ignored him. "You know, you've got that hot nerdy girl thing going for you." She gave him a cautious, long suffering look. "Fuinjutsu, a sensor type, using the Tomegane no jutsu. I'm guessing you learned it from the Hokage?" She nodded. "What are you really following Naruto around for? The protective big sister act fits you well, but I'm not so sure that's the whole story."

"What do you mean?" She asked, innocently.

"Why aren't you in a hospital or tagging along on important missions?"

Because I'm already on an important mission. She did not trust the man enough to admit that she was watching after Naruto because she was ordered to. If that got back to the boy, he would be devastated. The kunoichi schooled her expression into a shy one. "Well," She peered up at him through here eyelashes, over the frame of her glasses. "You know I'm a fan. I just wanted to be near you and see what goes into your writing process, Jiraiya-sama."

His cheeks grew red. She felt his signature churn with a sensation of opportunity. "Well, it would only make sense that a young girl your age would want to be near someone of my expertise and knowledge."

Despite not being his type, she could tell that he would jump at the chance to sleep with her… or any girl. This gave her room to manipulate him away from the train of thought he was on before. "Perhaps I could get you to sign another book for me?"

"Of course!"

She pulled out the second book that she had borrowed from Kakashi. With how excited the Jounin was to have the first book signed, she figured she could get some more brownie points by trying to this one signed, too.

"But, there's a condition."

"Oh?" Arashi had a foreboding feeling.

"A kiss." He pointed to his cheek. "Just a little peck right here."

The kunoichi swallowed thickly and hoped that he did not notice she wanted to throw up. Not wanting to back out of the persona she had created to keep his suspicions at bay, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. It was quick and chaste. He squealed. This is a Sannin?

Jiraiya took the book from her and signed it. In his excitement, he scribbled some hearts around his name. "There you go, sweetheart!"

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama!" She took it back and held it against her chest. "It will be cherished!" Just not by her.

His expression shifted to one that was serious. She had seen this demeanor shine through periodically over the weeks that he had been watching Naruto. While it might have been easy to label him as an idiot, she kept that inclination in check. Jiraiya was intelligent and capable. "You can get out of here for the day. I've got a few things planned. We're going to go eat his favorite meal, see his lady friend, and make sure he has all his loose ends tied up before we continue training. Since we're running out of time, I'll be ramping up his training a lot."

The kunoichi considered it for a moment. This would give her the opportunity to collect her teammates. At this point, Naruto's progress was slow and she did not foresee any issues with the Kyuubi occurring. "Alright. Will you still be in this area tomorrow?"

"Sure. Besides," he shrugged, "I doubt we'd be able to shake you off our trail, even if we tried."

She smiled but it did not reach her eyes. "As long as you're aware."

A short flight was all it took to make it back to Konoha. Sukai did not seem to mind giving her a ride when she wanted one, but she was sure to thank him and scratch under his wings in a couple places she knew he liked. As trifling as he was, she was grateful for him and his service. He did not have to be as accommodating as he was.

Arashi's first stop was to fetch Akio. The Aburame clan resided in a specific area within the village. It was not as defined as the Uchiha compound had been, but it was easy to find. To her relief, he was still home.

She knocked a few times and waited for him to answer. When he opened the door, he frowned. "You're supposed to be hiding."

"It's good to see you, too."

His signature flared with annoyance and he pulled her inside. The lighting was dim in a calming manner, his apartment was clean, although she did note that he was in the middle of writing a report. One of the walls was dedicated to a shelf packed with terrariums for bugs and the many varieties that he kept. "Sensei would tell you to stop being stupid."

"Wouldn't be the first time." She admitted. "But, I came here to chat with you."

He crossed his arms and waited.

Taking that as her que to continue, she jumped into it. "I've reworked my healing fuinjutsu's design so we won't have to reapply it so often. Since you were home, I wanted to see if you had enough down time for me to set the improved version for you."

He was quiet for a few moments as he considered the offer. "I've been given some time off to rest, but I'm on standby."

"If you're not comfortable with the chance of being put on a mission while recovering, then I'm not comfortable doing it. I'd rather not increase any risks for you."

He shook his head. "It should be fine. With current concerns, they've decided to keep me in the village instead of out in the field."

"Fair enough." She pulled out one of the scrolls she had completed earlier. "Where would you like to do this?"

Akio stripped down to his underwear, throwing his clothes onto the couch while Arashi produced a pot of chakra infused ink and a brush. Once they were ready, she followed him into the kitchen where he stood with his arms outstretched. They had been through this process enough, but she needed to remove the original seals first.

With agile fingers, she removed each seal, node by node. He was patient and quiet while she worked. When she was done with the first step, she grabbed the brush and began placing marks to help as a guide. It relied on accuracy for the placement to work while not interfering too much with the host's chakra system. The first time she had done this with Akio, it had been especially challenging because of his insects. Each carried a trace of his chakra, which made getting a feel of his pathways foggier for her. She was accustomed to it now.

"I never got to say it but thank you for getting me to the hospital."

He made a noise that sounded like a grunt, but she felt him soften. It was hard for her to believe that she had hated him as a child. With age, she was able to look back on their childhood with added clarity. She was a brat who was mean to him over his bugs and the clothes he wore. Loud, pushy, and arrogant, she was a barb in his insecurities. At the time, she thought of him as nothing more than a bully, but now she could see layers that were hidden under the surface. At six she despised him but at nineteen, she did not want to think of a life without Akio.

Arashi concentrated as she set the improved version of her jutsu in place, weaving it through his body to place each node of the seal until it was complete. The Aburame released a short, pained breath when she was done.

"Sorry. I know it hurts." She murmured, scrubbing some of the ink from his skin with a cloth she had set to the side.

He slid the fabric from her hands and began cleaning himself. "The benefits are worth it."

While unspoken, there had been several missions he would not have returned from if not for this jutsu. Arashi did not find that to be a comforting thought, but it did make her feel that her years of research and obsession made a difference for someone. She wanted to start distributing it to more shinobi, but knew that it was both invasive and would require a massive amount of chakra from her to distribute it and then maintain it. She was unsure of how to breach the subject with anyone. ANBU and Jounin would benefit the most from it on their missions, as she had seen with her teammate.

Maybe I could talk to someone about it more. Arashi gathered her supplies while Akio dressed himself. "Well, now I need to go find Daisuke."

He pulled his shirt over his head. "I'll go with you."

"Oh? Business or were you hoping to hang out with him or something?"

He gave her a flat look. "I want to make sure you don't get jumped."

"I'm not that helpless."

He did not reply. Instead, he grabbed his weapon pouches, strapped them on, and motioned for her to come as he led the way out. To humor him, she transformed into an inconspicuous civilian. They walked together to Daisuke's apartment. Akio stood behind her as she knocked and they waited.

When Daisuke opened the door, he gave the girl a confused look and then clicked his tongue. "Well, at least you're trying. Come on in."

They shuffled inside. Akio settled into a lone chair in the corner of the living room – one of two armchairs available. Arashi grabbed a chair from the kitchenette and set it down next to the Aburame where she sat. Daisuke took the one remaining.

"So, what are you two doing here?" He asked. "Must be something interesting."

"She made some changes to her jutsu." Akio replied. "Take your clothes off."

Daisuke sniffed. "This is going to suck, isn't it?"

"No more than usual." He replied.

Arashi rubbed her temples. "I'll make it quick and then we'll be done with it."

As she pulled everything out, she explained the changes and the benefits she hoped they would see. Daisuke huffed and eyed her with dread through the process, but remained as still as he could. With everything that she did with her jutsu, Daisuke had always been the most leery of it. He also had the worst tendencies as she worked on him. If she tried to mark him with the brush, he would startle away because he was ticklish. It was amusing the first time. Now it tried her patience. In the past, he was the first to say no when she offered any changes or adjustments.

She saw it as a sign of distrust. After her encounter with Orochimaru and the spark of interest he showed in what she did, she now realized that he was the first to recognize it as obsession. The thought left a bad taste in her mouth, but she kept herself busy and tried to push those worries to the back of her mind.

"You have a knack at getting your way." He sniffed once she was done and he was dressing himself. "You have both me and Akio running around as your lab rats and you've gotten Ibiki Sensei hooked on houseplants."

She arched an eyebrow. "Hooked on houseplants?"

"Yeah. He started with that one green leafy thing you got him and now his apartment is a small jungle. Just ask Akio. He had him come take care of a bug problem."

"Scale." Akio interjected.

Daisuke waved it off, "Yeah, whatever the hell that is."

"Some plants had aphids, one had mealybugs." The Aburame went on.

"I'm surprised that he didn't just use an insecticide or something." Daisuke went on. "But I guess he knows you collect these things. Can you even use them like your other insects?"

"No." He replied. "Not all insects can feed from chakra and integrate themselves into our bodies or toolsets."

"So, you just like the things?" Daisuke grimaced. Akio nodded. "Well, we all have our hobbies, I guess."

Arashi pursed her lips. The thought of Ibiki taking care of living things and enjoying it so much that he had filled his home with them was as bizarre as it was touching. "That's an interesting development."

"Speaking of interesting developments, where have you been laying low?" Daisuke inquired.

"Well, I've mostly been out of the village with Naruto-kun. He has a tough match coming up and I wanted to help him." She explained. "Other than that, I've been introducing Sakura-san to the medical field, and making sure that Kakashi-san and Sasuke-kun have the supplies they need while they train together."

His lips curled in amusement. "Spending a lot of time with Team 7."

"They need all the help they can get." She blurted out.

"Don't think Hatake-san can handle a group of Genin?" Daisuke asked. "He still has a lot of respect in ANBU. I have a hard time believing a few kids would be too much for him."

Arashi was careful as she picked her words. It was never that she thought the Jounin was incapable. She thought he was neglectful. "They're not too much for him. I've seen growth in Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura wants to grow, too. They just need a bit more hands-on work that can't be provided when he has his attention divided between them."

"Mhm." Daisuke's disbelief was obvious. "Is it the Genin that you want to be hands on with or is it the Jounin?"

She ignored the question and changed the subject. "So, how have the two of you been since Orochimaru's been around?"

Akio made a disgusted noise. Daisuke motioned toward him, "That's a good description. Everyone's on edge about it. As you can expect, some of us want to act while we still have the element of surprise. He doesn't seem to realize that we know who he is. If he does, he doesn't care. The guy's smug with everyone he talks to, like he finds it funny that he's able to operate in our village after being a criminal for so long." He paused for a beat to look at the paintings on his walls. "Mostly, it's unnerving."

Arashi noted how it seemed to echo what Danzo had said to her. "I've been away enough that I haven't gotten a good feel for his movements in the village." She admitted. "It makes me feel wasted, but when I spoke to Sandaime-sama about it, he had a decent point. We can't let the other Lands see us in chaos or let them think we're weak or in a crisis. If we can make it past this stupid exam, then we can make a move."

"Sandaime-sama is right." Akio agreed. "Even if it's frustrating."

"I think it's clear that he's working with that new Sound village." Arashi pointed out. "Well, either working with them or has control over some of them."

The Aburame glanced at her. She could tell he wanted to say something, but chose against it. As much as she would like to be on the same page as her teammates, she knew there was information they could not share with her solely because she was not in ANBU. "I agree with your observation."

She shook her head. "I overheard him call some of them his servants when he was speaking to Anko-san. Since he didn't eliminate her, I have to assume it's information he doesn't care that we have."

Unease settled in the room. She found herself looking over Daisuke's paintings. They elicited feelings of serenity and calm. From the corner of her eyes, she caught them doing the same thing. Daisuke might not have been much in active combat, but she was in awe of his talent with imbuing paint with genjutsu and how masterfully he was able to create scenes.

Daisuke sniffed, "Let's try to not make this too negative. Maybe one of us can go out and get some food. We can find a board game or something."

"Fair enough." She grinned. "I actually wanted to check on some people really quick." They gave her a curious look. When she unsealed her crystal ball and sat it on her lap, they leaned in closer to look. She was amused by how nosy they were being. "Let's do Kakashi-san, first." With a little concentration, she was able to find him and his image appeared in the orb. He and Sasuke were resting. The terrain around them was destroyed and filled with puncture holes.

"You know, I never thought you could be more unnerving as a sensor type." Daisuke commented. "Guess I was wrong."

She glared at him. "Oh shush. I'll be done in a moment." The next person she checked on was Naruto. He was walking next to the self-proclaimed Toad Sage.

Akio's eyebrows rose above his glasses. "Is that Jiraiya?"

"Believe it or not, yeah." Arashi laughed. "He's been overseeing Naruto-kun's training. It's been an odd experience and progress has been a little slow, but he said that they would be ramping everything up. He took Naruto to eat, visit with Sakura-san, and to make sure that he has nothing he needs to take care of since he'll be busy. I don't think Naruto-kun realizes how lucky he is."

"Sounds like a last meal and closing up loose ends." Akio commented.

Arashi paused. "What? No!" Just as the words left her mouth, Jiraiya punched Naruto in the stomach with enough force to knock him out. Irreverently, he threw the boy over his shoulder and continue walked. "W-what is he doing?"

"Probably killing him." Akio replied and then leaned in closer.

I never should have trusted him alone with Naruto! She mentally cursed at herself, but maintained the jutsu. Even if she rushed, it would take time to reach them and she would stand no chance against the Sannin if she did make it in time to interrupt what he was doing. With that in mind, she watched as Jiraiya carried the boy until they were next to a cliff.

"Look at that, going to dump the body down there." Daisuke commented.

Akio snorted. "Animals would clean up the scene before anyone would think to look there."

"Guys, stop it!" She hissed.

They gave her a flat look but stopped talking. Their attention turned to watching Jiraiya and Naruto go back and forth next to the cliff now that the Genin was conscious again. Their heated discussion ended when the Sanin knocked Naruto back and off the cliff.

Arashi gasped. Naruto focused chakra to his hands and feet in an attempt to get a grip on the cliff side, but each attempt failed. The rocks were too slick. The boy's terror was clear on his face as he plummeted. Then, all at once, there was a surge of the Kyuubi's chakra and Naruto attempted to summon a toad.

Instead of failure, there was a cloud of smoke and then a massive toad appeared at the bottom of the ravine. The size of the creature was almost unreal. Arashi's mouth fell open and she released a breath she did not know she was holding when Naruto bounced on his back and began moving around. He had tapped into the demon's chakra and managed to survive.

The kunoichi promised herself that she would punch Jiraiya in the teeth the next time she saw him.

"That summon is too much for a kid." Akio observed.

Arashi chewed at her lips. Sukai was often a handful for her. At best, he'll be ignored. More likely, he'll be overpowered and killed.

The toad, Gamabunta, argued with Naruto before leaping out of the ravine and landing in the forest with the force of a small earthquake.

"You've been helping with that for Kakashi?" Daisuke murmured. "Oh, dear, emotionally unavailable is one thing, but that is just too much baggage to deal with just to get laid."

Akio grunted in agreement.

Arashi gaped at them and released the scrying jutsu. "He's just a friend!"

"I deal with better liars every day, Arashi." Daisuke sniffed.

"Use that jutsu again." Akio interrupted them. "This is better entertainment than a board game."

The kunoichi sighed and did what she was told. Together, they watched as Naruto pit his will against his summon and clung to his head. It did make for a more interesting and entertaining evening. By the end, Arashi was bursting with proud for the young Uzumaki.

And that is it for this chapter!

Moktopus: This review made my day - thank you! :)

I'm glad that you liked part 1. It's jarring for me to go back and re-read it since it was written to be mostly light hearted, silly, and plot-less. I wanted to write Arashi as a character that had a bunch of loose connections to these characters, as well as take the time to develop her Genin team. To do that, I settled on writing what was essentially a 15k word introduction. I realize I'm kinda heavy on OCs in this story, but they're honestly fun to write.

Looking back, I'm surprised by how easy it was to write Arashi and Itachi's friendship. There were so many times I lamented because I began this with Kakashi being the main romance option in mind, but ItachixArashi interactions had chemistry that I've struggled to recreate. It felt like they understood each other's convictions, opinions, and personalities even though Itachi hid a great deal from her and she's been left to believe a lie. That same chemistry will make upcoming scenes more interesting than I initially planned.

The Ran family's relationship with Kazika has been lackluster, overall. They're busy people and he's in the Academy. Love is there, but he definitely does not get the same amount of attention that Arashi did as a child. It's a dynamic that happens in families IRL and I do try to keep things more realistic for them when I can. There will be more time for Kazika once Naruto and Sasuke have left the village.

As for Satoshi and Arashi.. There is something going on there that I won't go into much detail about. It will be addressed a bit closer to the end of Part 3 (so we're on our way to it). As a simple answer: she's a sensor type with an impressive chakra pool that doesn't know how to 'turn it off' so she sticks out to other sensor types.

I considered Arashi and Sasuke for a long time and it just didn't feel right to have them bond with each other. When she looks at him, she thinks of Itachi. When he looks at her, he thinks of Itachi. She never came to hate him and internalized a lot of the tragedy as somehow being her fault for failing to recognize Itachi's struggles and getting him the help she believes he needed. Sasuke is, well, Sasuke and is bent on vengeance.

The ending of this part of the fanfic will go into her biological parents a little bit and how Ookami came to adopt her. I'm very excited to reach that content. I've been placing hints since part 1 and I'm curious if anyone has caught onto them and has a theory about her past or lineage (it's obvious to me, but I hope it's not so clear to readers).

Kakashi is complicated for me to write. We've finally gotten to a point where they're definitely friends. He has a lot of walls and she hasn't been able to claw her way through them yet. I will warn you: this is probably the slowest of slow burns. Kakashi has so much emotional baggage to work through, but those conversations will start happening when drama with Sasuke starts spiking up more. At this this point, there is a measure of trust and teamwork between them. It might not seem like much, but that does matter to Kakashi and it will end up showing in time.